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'What's wrong in asking about Rahul Gandhi's caste': Union minister Kiren Rijiju
The remarks come a day after a row erupted in the Lok Sabha after BJP's Anurag Thakur said that people whose caste is unknown are talking about caste census.
Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday said that there was nothing wrong in asking about the caste of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
The statement comes a day after a row erupted in the Lok Sabha over the remarks of BJP MP Anurag Thakur in the House on Tuesday that people whose caste is unknown are talking about the caste census.
Thakur, who was attacking the Opposition over the issue of caste census, later clarified that he said “that someone who doesn’t know about caste talks about census” and added that he did not name anyone even as the uproar continued and Congress leaders demanded his apology.
On Wednesday, as Congress MPs continued their protest in the Parliament over Thakur's comments, Rijiju accused Gandhi of attempting to "divide the country" on caste lines.
Also Read | PM Narendra Modi endorses Anurag Thakur's caste census speech: ‘Exposed INDI Alliance’
Rijiju also claimed that Congress leaders keep asking people's caste day in and day out.
"By asking the caste of people, the Congress has conspired to divide the country, and when there was talk about Rahul Gandhi's caste, there was so much protest," he told reporters, according to PTI.
“The Congress talks of caste day in and day out. When he (Rahul Gandhi) meets mediapersons, he asks their caste, he asks the caste of armed forces personnel, he asks people's caste during the Bharat Jodo Yatra. They can ask about the caste of the people, but no one can ask about his caste. What is this?” Rijiju added. “Akhilesh Yadav also supported Rahul Gandhi. Are they above the country and Parliament?”
Also Read | Anurag Thakur's ‘caste’ remark on Rahul Gandhi draws Akhilesh Yadav's ire: ‘There was a time…’
The Parliamentary Affairs minister also accused the Congress of conspiring to weaken the country and democracy and economy and asserted that the BJP will not allow the Congress to succeed in its efforts to divide people.
"The Congress wants to spread violence from the streets to Parliament," he alleged.
Meanwhile, Union minister Ramdas Athawale also said while the opposition has been demanding a caste census, there was no harm in asking for Rahul Gandhi's caste.
He said, "You were in power for 70 years. Why did you not carry out a caste census?"
